Owings beaned by fastball in Reds' win at Atlanta

ATLANTA(AP) -- Once Micah Owings realized he was OK, one of his
biggest concerns was making sure his mom knew he was fine.

Owings walked off the field after getting beaned with the bases
loaded in the 12th inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the
Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Sunday for their seventh consecutive win.

Owings (7-12), who pitched two scoreless innings, was hit on the
left side of his batting helmet by an 0-1 fastball from
Kawakami. Owings was on his back for several seconds before
medical staff from the Reds and Braves helped him sit up and
walk to the dugout.

The scary play came in front of several family members, who came
in from Gainesville, Ga., hoping to see Owings get into the
game.

"Yeah, it was nice to have them here even though I'm sure my mom
was flipping out from the get-go, but I tried to reassure
everybody when I knew that I could see and that everything was
fine," Owings said. "I wasn't dizzy or anything, but I wanted
everyone to know because I knew they would be worrying and
praying at the same time."

According to Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker, Owings was bleeding
"at the ear" in the dugout.

"He can't fly for a couple of days," Baker said. "But he was in
good humor about it. The doctors are in there now stitching him
up."

Joey Votto scored on the play, and Corky Miller followed with a
sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

Kawakami (7-11), who has started 25 of 27 games, allowed two
runs and two hits in two innings. Atlanta has lost five
straight, matching its season-worst skid set April 14-18.

Cincinnati trailed 2-1 before Drew Stubbs hit his fifth homer
against Mike Gonzalez in the eighth. The Reds have won 12 of 14.

"Anytime a guy gets hit, it's a scary situation," said Stubbs,
who finished with three hits. "It could've been much worse - a
concussion that puts him on the DL - but I was ready for the
game to end in the ninth."

The Braves wasted a terrific start by Tim Hudson, who allowed
one run and four hits over seven innings in his second game
since returning from elbow surgery. The right-hander retired the
last 14 batters he faced while making his first appearance at
Turner Field since beating Washington on July 18, 2008.

"It was a tough loss today," Hudson said. "I wish we could have
pulled this one out. For the most part things are starting to
zero in for me. My curveball and my split were really good
today. Those are pitches I haven't had in a really long time."

Johnny Cueto also turned in a strong start for Cincinnati,
striking out nine while allowing one run and three hits over six
innings. The right-hander was attempting to win consecutive
starts for the first time since June 25 at Toronto and July 1
against Arizona.

Jared Burton replaced Cueto in the seventh and former Reds
catcher David Ross hit his first pitch for his seventh homer,
giving Atlanta a 2-1 lead.

Owings, also one of Cincinnati's top pinch hitters, wasn't sure
how long he would be unable to play. In 169 career at-bats,
Owings has eight homers, 30 RBIs and a .538 slugging percentage.

"I don't think I could have gotten out of the way of it anyway,"
he said. "Luckily, I was looking for a slider."

Kawakami, speaking through an interpreter, apologized and Owings
said he had no hard feelings.

"The sign was 2-seamer inside," Kawakami said. "(Ross) held up
his glove high, and I tried to jam it, knowing he was going to
come up swinging. Just instantly, I lost the feeling of trying
to be aggressive after that. It's the worst place to hit a
person. Of course, I was scared for him."

NOTES: Braves LF Garret Anderson held onto Paul Janish's
pinch-hit flyout in the eighth despite colliding with CF Nate
McLouth. Neither player appeared hurt and both stayed in the
game. ... Because RHP Justin Lehr has a slight groin pull, RHP
Homer Bailey will start for the Reds on Monday at Colorado.
Baker said LHP Matt Maloney will be called up from Double-A
Carolina to start Tuesday against the Rockies. ... Atlanta 2B
Kelly Johnson snapped a 0-for-20 slide with a pinch-hit single
in the seventh. ... Before the game, Atlanta recalled RHP Manny
Acosta from Triple-A Gwinnett and sent down RHP Luis Valdez.

NLAT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATESOLO HOME RUN BY DREW STUBBS (5) TO LEFT WITH 2 OUT IN THE8TH OFF MIKE GONZALEZ.CURRENT SCORE: CINCINNATI 2, ATLANTA 2DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: D MCDONALD (.242, 1-FOR-3, RBI)